Means for operating valves.



No. 705,250. Patented July 22, I902. C. G. Y. KING.

MEANS FOR OPERATiNG VALVES.

(Application filed Nov. 14, 1901.)

(No Model.)

l l l l UNITED STATES PATENT Critics.

CHARLES G. Y. KING, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

MEANS FOR OPERATHNG VALVES.

PECIFIGATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 705,250, dated July 22,1902. Application filed November 14,1901. Serial No, 82,198. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern."

Be it known that I, CHARLES G. Y. KING, acitizen of the UnitedStates,residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois,have invented a new and useful Means for Operating Valves, of which thefollowing is a specification.

This invention relates to means for operating valves.

The object of the invention is to provide power mechanism for operatinggate or other valves wherein the motive power is not required to effectthe final movement of the valve in closing or the initial movement inopening the valve.

A further object of the invention is to provide means for automaticallyarresting the power-actuating mechanism.

A further object of the invention is to provide means for manuallymoving the valve in its initial movement in opening and to complete suchopening movement by power-actuated mechanism.

A further object of the invention is to provide power mechanism foreffecting the closing movement of the valve and manuallyactuatedmechanism for effecting the final closing movement of the valve.

Other objects of the invention will appear more fully hereinafter.

The invention consists substantially in the construction, combination,location, and arrangement of parts, all as will be more fullyhereinafter set forth, as shown in the accompanying drawings, andfinally pointed out in the appended claims.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, and to the various views andreference-signs appearing thereon, Figure 1 is a viewin side elevationof a construction of valve-operating means embodying the principles ofmy invention, parts of the valve-casing being broken out and parts invertical section. Fig. 2 is a broken view in elevation, taken fromthe'left of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a broken detail view in side elevation,showing the means for automatically arresting the motor at the limits ofthe movement thereof. Fig. 4 is a top plan view of the constructionshown in Fig. Fig. 5 is a diagram showing the motor-circuits.

The same part is designated by the same reference-sign wherever itoccurs throughout the several views.

In the case of gate or other valves employed in connection with pipes,conduits, and the like it is desirable to provide means for quicklyoperating the valve to open and to closed position. In the case of pipesand conduits, water-mains, and the like, in which high pressure ismaintained, it is diflicult to manually operate the valve on account ofthe pressure imposed upon one side thereof by the pressure medium in thepipe, conduit, main, or the like. Moreover, it is usual to constructvalves, and particularly gatevalves, of wedge shape in order to enablethe same to be efficiently received and seated in its seat, and byreason of the wedging of the valve in its seat when seated, combinedwith the influence of the pressure exerted thereagainst by the pressuremedium in the pipe, main,,or conduit, considerable power is required toinitially start the valve from its seat in opening and to complete thefinal movement of the valve into its seat in closing.

It is the special purpose of myinvention to provide a construction ofpower mechanism for moving the valve to its open and toward its closedposition, and in order to relieve the power mechanism of the strains andinjurious effects incident to the large amount of power required to bedeveloped in initially starting the valve from its closed position andin offecting the final movement of the valve to its closed position, Ipropose to combine with man uallyactuated devices for imparting thevalve, a power mechanism whereby the valve ments of gearing and powermechanism for accomplishing these objects maybe employed in carrying outthe principles of my invention. While, therefore, I have shown and willnow describe one form which I have found in practice efficient for theaccomplishment of the desired object, I do not desire to be limited orrestricted to the exact and specific construction and arrangement shownand described.

In the drawings, A represents a pipe-main, conduit, or the like, and Bthe valve, which in the particular form shown is of the gatevalvevariety. This valve is provided with a threaded valve-stem, to which isconnected a hand-wheel O, by which the initial starting movement may beimparted to the valve in opening and the final closing movement may begiven to the valve.

D designates a motor, which in the form shown may comprise an electricmotor, although it is evident that any other form of motor may beemployed.

The motor D is suitably geared to the valvestem-as, for instance, bymeans of the intermeshing gears E F, respectively mounted upon the shaftof the motor and the valvestem-whereby when the motor is actuated thevalve is moved toward open or closed position, according to thedirection of action of the motor. Upon the threaded portion G of thevalve-stem is mounted a traveling nut II, formed with or connected to anarm J, suitably held from rotation, so that When rotation is imparted tothe valve-stem said arm will travel back and forth upon the valvestem,according to the direction of rotation imparted to the valve-stem. Inthe particular form shown the arm J operates through a slot K in a frameor plate L, suitably supported upon the valve-casing or otherwise.

M N designate rocking blocks, pivotally mounted, as at O, and carryingcontact-levers 1 Q, cooperating with contacts R S for controlling thecircuits of the motor. A suitable tension-such, for instance, as springsT- may be employed for normally maintaining the blocks M N rocked intoposition to snap contact-levers P Q into contact with contacts R S,respectively. The blocks M N are provided with seats A, (see Fig. 3,)adapted to receive the ends of a bar B, carried by arm J. The rockingblocks M N are arranged, respectively, at the limits of travel of arm J,and the seats A are faced in opposite directions-that is, are presentedtoward each other-so that when arm J approaches one limit of itsmovement the end of bar B, carried thereby, will enter the seat A in oneof the rocking blocks, thereby rocking said block so as to break circuitbetween the lever Q, or P, carried thereby, and its cooperating con tactS or R, as the case may be, and similarly when the arm J moves in theopposite direction from one of its limits of travel it will cause theblock M or N, as the case may be, to rock so as to close theswitch-lever thereof upon its cooperating contact and will leave theblock M or N in proper position to receive the end of bar B uponcompleting the return movement of said bar or arm J. Theends of arm B,which engage or are received in the seats of blocks M N, are preferablycovered with insulation, as indicated at C. As above indicated, theswitch-arms P Q, in connection with their cooperating contacts R S,control the circuits of the motor, and therefore from the foregoingdescription it will be seen that when the arm J approaches the limit ofits travel in either direction it will open the circuits of the motor,thereby automatically arresting the motor, and when said arm J beginsits travel it leaves the adjacent switch arm or lever in closed positionready to permit of the reversal of the motor, as will presently appearmore fully.

In Fig. 5 I have illustrated in diagram the circuits of the motor, inwhich D designates diagrammatically the motor-field, and E themotor-armature. a I) c d represent diagrammatically the pair ofswitch-levers P and their cooperating contacts R. cfg h illustrate(liagrammatically the pair of switch-levers Q and their cooperatingcontacts S. F designates diagrammatically a main hand or wall switch,which may be of the usual construction and arrangement for completingcircuit with a source of current-supply and comprises the contacts a b cd e f g h Z. a b designate, respectively, the supply and return wirescommunicating with a source of current-supply. These conductorsterminate at the contacts d c of the main switch. 0 d designate,respective1y,the circuit-wires of the motor-fieldwindings and are inelectrical connection with the contact-points f h of the main switch. cf are respectively the circuit-wires of the motorarmature, the wire ebeing in electrical connection with the contacts a e and the wire fbeing in electrical connection with the con tacts c g. Contact fis inelectrical connec tion with main-switch contact 0 through \vi're gContact 6 is in electrical connection with main-switch contact g throughwire 7L2. Contact h is in electrical connection with contact 1) of themain switch through wire 713 and contact (1 is in electrical connectionwith contact Z of the main switch through wire m. In starting up themotor the main switch is manipulated to close circuit between contacts 6and between a and b and assumin the parts of the automaticcircuit-breaking switches to be in their relative positions thereof asshown in Fig. 3-that is, automatic switch-levers P, closed upon contactsR, re-,

ferring to the diagram in Fig. 5, with the circuit closed betweencontacts a b and c d-the main switch F is manipulated to close thecircuit in starting the motor between contacts d and g and contacts f Z.Under these circuit conditions the circuit of the motor may be traced asfollows: from the main or positive supply-wire a to contact 6, to contact f, where the current divides, part provoaaso ceeding through Wire 0through the motorfield D, thence through wire d to contact 71, tocontact a, to contact 01, to return-wire 19 The other part of thecurrent traverses a circuit from contact f to contact Z, wire m contactsat 0, wire the armature E of the motor, wire 6 contacts a b, wire 7L2,contact g, contact d, to return-wire 12 thus starting up the motor inone direct-ion. The motor continues to operate under these conditionsuntil the arm J reaches thelimit of its travel from the position thereofas shown in Figs. 3 and 4 toward the left. At the beginning of thistravel of arm J the contact-blocks M are rocked so as to causecontact-levers Q, to make electrical connection with their cooperatingcontacts S. This, however, does not disturb the circuits of the motor,and the bridging at this point of contacts cf and g does not effect acontinuation of the operation of the motor under the conditionspreviously described. The motor continues to operate until the arm Jcompletes its travel, thereby bringing arm B into position to engage orto be received in the seats A of switch -blocks N, thereby rocking saidswitch-blocks, so as to break circuit connection between switch-levers Pand their cooperating contacts R, thus breaking the motor-armaturecircuit between the contact-s a b and c d, and hence the motor isarrested, while the contact-blocks M at the opposite limit of travel ofbar B are in position to re ceive said arm to arrest the motor when saidarm is returned to its opposite limit of travel. Supposing the operationabove described effects a movement of the valve toward closed position,then in accordance with the principles of my invention the switch-blocksN are so located as to be opened to break the motor-circuits and toarrest the motor before the valve reaches its extreme seated position.Thereafter the final or seating movement of the valve is imparted byhand through the manual operation of hand-wheel 0. Thus the motor is notrequired to develop the increased power necessary to effect the finalmovement of the valve in closing, and hence the danger of burning outthe motor or of overloading it is avoided, the final movement of thevalve in closing being effected manually. Now suppose it is desired toopen the Valve. The initial opening movement is imparted by manualoperation of hand-wheel 0, thereby loosening the valve in its seat. Thenthe main switch F is manipulated to close circuit between contacts 0 fas before and a b as before, thereby completing the circuit of themotor-field in identically the same manner as above described. The mainswitch F is also manipulated to break the circuits between the contactsf Z and between 61 g and complete the circuits between f c and between ab", whereupon the motor-armature circuit is completed as follows: frommain supply-wire a contact 6, contact f, contact 0, wire g contacts f 6,wire (2 the motor-armature E, wire f contacts g h, wire 78, contact b,contact 66, contact d, to the returnwire b thus starting up the motor inthe reverse direction from that above described, it being rememberedthat the contacts cf and g h were closed when the bar Z) leftitsoriginal initial posit-ion, and the motor will revolve in the oppositedirection. The starting up of the motor under these conditions willcause a travel of arm B in the opposite 'direction that is,toward theposition thereof as shown in Figs. 3 and 4. The initial movement of armB toward the original starting position effects a rocking ofswitch-blocks N into the positions thereof indicated in Figs. 3 and 4,thereby closing switch-levers P into electrical connection with theircorresponding contacts R, thus leaving the circuit closed betweencontacts a b and c d in the diagram in Fig. 5 without disturbing thecircuit relations under which the motor is operating, but leaving thecircuit connections in proper condition for another reversal of thedirection of operation of the motor when it is desired to close thevalve, and when bar B reaches the limit of its movement theswitch-levers Q are ac tuated to break the operating-circuits of themotor, thus automatically arresting the motor. Thus the motor is notcalled upon to exert the enormous starting torque which is necessary tounseat the valve or loosen the same in its seat. Consequently the motoris relieved of the danger of overloading or of burning out its windingsin starting the valve toward open position.

The operation will be readily understood and is exceedingly simple andis as follows: The main switch F is manipulated to start the motor inone direction or the other, according as it is desired to open or closethe valve, and when said switch is properly manipulated the motor startsup and effects the opening or closing movement of the valve quickly andexpeditiously. If the move ment thus imparted to the valve is towardclosed position, the motor is automatically arrested before the valvereaches its final closed position, and the final movement of the valveis effected manually by the manipu lation of the hand-wheel. Similarlyan ini* tial or starting movement toward open posi tion is elfectedmanually by the manipulation of handwheel O, and the valve is thenopened expeditiously and quickly by the power mechanism.

Having now set forth the object and nature of my invention and aconstruction em bodying the principles thereof, I desire to beunderstood that many variations and changes in the details ofconstruction and arrange ment would readily occur to persons skilled inthe art and still fall within the spirit and scope of my invention. Myinvention is therefore not limited to the exact and specificconstruction shown and described.

vVhat I claim as new and useful and of my own invention, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination with a valve, a motor for actuating said valve, meansfor automatically arresting said motor before the valve reaches itsfinal position in closing, and auxiliary means for completing the finalmovement of the valve, as and for the purpose set forth.

2. The combination with a valve, power mechanism for operating saidvalve, means for automatically arresting the power mechanism before thevalve reaches its closed position, and manually-actuated devices forcompleting the closing movement of the valve, as and for the purpose setforth.

3. The combination with a valve and power mechanism for operating thesame, of manually-actuated devices for imparting the initial movement tothe valve in opening, as and for the purpose set forth.

4. The combination with a valve and power mechanism for operating thesame, of manually-actuated devices for initially starting the valvetoward open position, and means for automatically arresting the powermechanism when the valve reaches its completely open position, as andfor the purpose set forth.

5. The combination with a valve, an electric motor for operating saidvalve, circuits for said motor, means for opening the circuit of saidmot-or before the valve completes its movement toward closed position,and manual actuated devices for completing the closing movement of thevalve, as and for the purpose set forth.

6. The combination with a valve and an electric motor for operating thesame, circuits for said motor, of manually-actuated devices forinitially starting the valve toward open position, and means for openingthe circuit of said motor when the valve reaches the limit of itsopening movement, as and for the purpose set forth.

7. The combination with a valve, a stem therefor, an operatinghand-wheel connected to said stem, power mechanism, and gearingconnected to said power mechanism and valve-stem, the initial movementof the valve in opening being imparted by the hand-wheel and themovement completed by the power mechanism, as and for the purpose setforth.

8. The combination with a valve, of manual actuating devices connectedto said valve for imparting the initial movement to the valve inopening, and power mechanism also connected to said valve for completingthe opening movement, as and for the purpose set forth.

9. The combination with a valve having a threadedistem, a motor gearedto said valvestem for actuating the same, a nut mounted upon saidthreaded stem and held against rotation, means actuated by the travel ofsaid nut for automatically arresting said motor before the valve reachesthe limit of its movement in closing, and auxiliary means for completingthe closing movement of the valve, as and for the purpose set forth.

10. The combination with a valve having a threaded stem, an electricmotor geared to said stem, circuits for said motor, a traveling nutmounted on said stem, means actuated by said traveling nut forautomatically openin g the circuits of said motor before said valvereaches the limits of its movement in closing, and auxiliary means forcompleting the closing movement of the valve, as and for the purpose setforth.

11. The combination with a valve having a threaded stem, a motor gearedto said valve, circuits for said motor, a traveling nut mounted on saidstem, a bar carried by said nut, and switch-levers arranged in the pathof travel of said bar and arranged to be engaged thereby to be opened orclosed, said switchlevers being arranged in the circuits of said motor,as and for the purpose set forth.

12. The combination with a valve having a threaded stem, a motor gearedto said stem, a traveling nut mounted on said stem, a bar carried bysaid nut, switch-blocks arranged to be engaged by said bar at the limitsof travel thereof, and switch-arms carried by said switch-blocks andoperating to automatically open the motor-circuits to arrest the motorat the limits of travel of said bar, as and for the purpose set forth.

13. The combination with a valve having athreaded stem, of a motorgeared to said valve-stem, a traveling nut mounted on said stem, a barcarried by said nut, oppositelypresented switch blocks arrangedrespectively at the limits of travel of said nut to be engaged by saidbar asit approaches the limits of its travel, whereby in the initialmove ment of said bar the adjacent switch-block is left in position toclose a circuit of the motor, and in the final movement of said bar aswitch-block is actuated to open the circuit of the motor, as and forthe purpose set forth.

1a. The combination with a valve, a threaded stem therefor, a nutmounted on said. threaded stem, a hand-wheel connected to said stem, amotor geared to said stem, contacts arranged in the circuits of saidmotor and arranged to be engaged and actuated by said traveling nut toopen and close the motor-circuits, said contacts being arranged to openthe motor-circuits before the valve, in closing, reaches its finalclosing movement, as and for the purpose set forth.

In Witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand, this 7th day ofNovember, 1901, in the presence of the subscribing witnesses.

CHARLES G. Y. KING. lVitnesses:

S. E. DARBY, CHAS. H. SEEM.

